


Storage Closet Confessions

by MoonlightBreeze



Series: Tumblr Prompts [10]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: Alec Lightwood Deserves Nice Things, Alec Lightwood Feels, Alec Lightwood Has Feelings, Alec Lightwood Loves Magnus Bane, Alec Lightwood Needs A Hug, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, And he gets that hug, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Best Friends, Crying Alec Lightwood, Embarrassed Alec Lightwood, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, Feels, Friends to Lovers, I am so upset that wasn't a tag, M/M, Magnus Bane Loves Alec Lightwood, Nervousness, Supportive Magnus Bane, Tags Are Fun, Theater Kid Magnus Bane, Tumblr Prompt, he gets those nice things, no beta we die like men, pride prompt fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-22
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-03 23:29:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24853861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightBreeze/pseuds/MoonlightBreeze
Summary: Magnus and Alec have been best friends for years. Now, it's their senior year and all hell is about to break loose. When the lead actress of the play Magnus is starring in kisses him on set, Alec is devastated. He knows his feelings for Magnus are unrequited. Or are they?Basically a cliche high school AU best friends to lovers fic where Magnus is the theater kid we all know he would have been.~ requested by an anon on Tumblr ~
Relationships: Alec Lightwood & Isabelle Lightwood, Isabelle Lightwood & Jace Wayland, Magnus Bane & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood
Series: Tumblr Prompts [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1751983
Comments: 12
Kudos: 186





	Storage Closet Confessions

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! This is another one of my Tumblr prompts. This one was written from a Pride prompts list and requested by an anon. 
> 
> Prompt: _Could you do Malec number 14 for the Pride prompt thing?_ _#14 = best friends_
> 
> This is my very first time writing best friends to lovers (even though it's one of my favourite tropes ever) and a high school AU. I'm actually pretty happy with this, and it turned out a lot longer than I intended it to. Also, please note that the shitty title is because I had literally no idea what to call this.
> 
> I really hope you like this! Kudos make my day and comments validate my existence, so please feel free to leave those, if you want :) And as always, I hope you have a wonderful day/night!
> 
> ~ Em

Alec tried to fade into the background as much as he could, but it was hard to do when his best friend happened to be the play’s lead. Magnus wasn’t just a great actor; he was a great singer, a great performer, a great _everything_. And somehow, instead of watching and cheering from the stands like every other year, Magnus had convinced Alec to participate in the play with him for their senior year of high school, insisting that it would be special and fun for the both of them.

Alec had been onstage for two minutes, and he already regretted it.

He’d managed to get himself cast as a tree, thankfully, so it wasn’t like he had any lines of importance. However, Magnus kept trying to involve Alec in the play and encourage him to take a more active role in the drama club. While he appreciated the effort, Alec was no social butterfly, and right now he just wanted to be alone.

The reason for that, however, perhaps had a little less to do with the play and more to do with the lead actress, Camille.

Alec’s lips turned down into a grimace as Camille swept Magnus into her arms again, shooting him a dazzling smile. He tried to remind himself that it was just a play, that Magnus and Camille weren’t really together, but it was hard when the blonde woman was so clearly attracted to Magnus. 

She certainly hadn’t been shy about that.

It made him want to throw up.

“You might be a tree, but I don’t think you’re supposed to look like you have a stick up your ass,” Alec’s little sister, Isabelle, commented cheerfully from beside him. He turned to her and gave her his best bitchy older sibling glare.

“I do not,” he defended himself pointlessly.

“You do, too,” Izzy countered. “What’s wrong, big brother?” She bent forward to brush a few of the fake leaves they were required to wear on their costumes to the ground, and Alec gave her a pointed look, to which she rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Alec groused. His eyes inadvertently found Magnus and Camille again. They were engaged in a scene set in the forest where Magnus had to hold her hand and lead her to a clearing to taste some sort of magical water. He tried to ignore the white-hot stab of jealousy that shot through him at the sight of Magnus’s hand in hers. 

“Sure,” Isabelle replied skeptically, turning a critical eye to the scene that Alec was watching. Her expression softened and her eyes flashed with pity that made Alec want to strangle her. “It’s them, isn’t it?” she said, her tone dripping with sadness. “Being all couple-y like that.”

Alec chose not to answer her, focusing his gaze on a spot on the wall directly above her head.

“Why don’t you just ask Magnus out?” Izzy complained. “He’s clearly into you; what’s stopping you?”

“He is not into me,” Alec shot back, ignoring the way his heart clenched at those painful words. 

“Mmhm,” Izzy replied in a disbelieving manner. “Because normal best friends hold each other’s hands when they go places, know each other’s sexual preferences far too well, and stare at each other’s lips an insane amount.”

Alec sputtered indignantly. “We do not do that.”

Isabelle raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, we do not stare at each other’s lips all the time,” Alec amended. “You’re seeing things.”

Izzy scoffed. “Okay, big brother. Whatever gets you through the night.”

With that, she turned on her heel and walked away. Alec startled as he realised that their scene had come to an end. He hadn’t even heard the change music. He followed Isabelle into the changing rooms and stripped out of the uncomfortable tree costume, pulling on his jeans and a plain black sweater instead. 

When he was finished, Alec made his way to the seat usually occupied by the person who manned the curtains on opening night. They were gone that afternoon, leaving the curtain operation to whoever happened to be closest. Alec usually hated doing curtains, but it gave him an opportunity to peek out from behind them and watch Magnus in action. 

The scene had changed to one in the main character’s house, and both Camille and Magnus were in this scene. He grit his teeth and tried to ignore the blonde girl in favour of watching Magnus in his element. 

Magnus’s outfit was that of a prince; he was covered from head to toe in glitter and sparkles, and he was dressed in blue pants, a black button-up, and a patterned grey suit jacket. Alec had to remind himself consciously not to drool. 

“I’m afraid I cannot disobey my parents,” Magnus was saying, gesturing theatrically as he explained to Camille the prince’s reasons for not seeing her character any longer. 

“I understand,” Camille said. She nodded her head and looked a little sad. As much as Alec hated to admit it, the girl was a damn good actress. She was definitely the best fit for the female lead. 

“But what if they don’t find out?” Camille had moved closer to Magnus, taking his hand and staring into his eyes with adoration. Alec tried not to let himself feel jealous, knew that it was irrational, knew that Magnus would have said something to him by now if he had any feelings for the blonde. Still, he couldn’t help the spike of animosity he felt towards Camille for going beyond what the play called for in terms of romantic interest. 

“What do you mean?” Magnus asked breathlessly, his eyes locked onto Camille’s. “How could we keep it from them?” Alec felt a small smile stretch across his face at Magnus’s prowess. Right now, he was not Magnus Bane. He was Aeros Nightshade, the main protagonist of the play. 

“I may have a solution,” Camille said ominously. Alec let out a breath, as he recognised the lines from their script and knew that their scene would be coming to a close soon. His death-grip on the curtain rod lessened just slightly, and he allowed himself to feel the relief that he would get to see and touch his best friend soon, ensure that he wasn’t interested in Camille in the slightest. 

Then Camille took Magnus’s face in her hands and kissed him hard on the mouth. 

Alec’s head swam with irrational rage and jealousy; his eyes glazed over with tears and he stumbled off of the seat and ran for the back of the stage. He heard the directors’ voices, chastising Camille for her action; kissing Magnus wasn’t scripted. 

He had almost made it to the tiny storage closet, secluded from everyone else and hidden by the darkness of backstage, when he felt a firm grip on his arm. He looked down and saw Izzy, her big brown eyes full of concern. 

“Alec?” she asked in a worried tone of voice. “What is it? Where are you going?”

“Nowhere,” Alec grit out between clenched teeth, struggling to keep his voice from shaking. “Everything’s fine, Izzy.”

He shook her off and retreated inside the storage closet, locking the door behind him. 

There, in the safety of isolation and under the cover of darkness, Alec brought his head to his hands and tried to quell the burning behind his eyelids of tears that desperately wanted to escape. Internally, he knew that Magnus didn’t like Camille that way, and he knew that he hadn’t wanted to be kissed by her any more than Alec had wanted him to be. He knew the kiss didn’t mean anything, but he couldn’t control his reaction to it, because it brought the cold, harsh truth to the forefront of his mind.

Magnus may not want Camille, but there would be someone else that he _would_ want. 

And that someone wouldn’t be Alec.

To his horror, Alec couldn’t hold back his tears at that thought, and he began to cry into his knees; great big, ugly sobs that wrenched their way out of his throat unbidden. His hands fisted the material of his jeans and he hoped to God that no one would hear the noise coming from the closet and investigate. 

He couldn’t be seen like this.

Alec had cried maybe three times before in his entire life; twice, he had cried alone in his bedroom, with no one else the wiser, and once he had allowed himself to shed a few tears on Magnus’s shoulder when his dog died. 

Despite their closeness, neither Magnus nor Izzy had ever seen him in such a state. 

Voices sounded from outside the storage closet, and Alec bit his lip hard, trying to keep the volume of his cries down as much as he could. When they drifted closer, to his surprise, Alec recognised the two voices: it was Izzy and Jace, his younger brother. 

“I don’t know where he went,” Isabelle said testily, and Alec had a feeling Jace was being impatient with her again. 

“Well, he couldn’t have just disappeared!” Jace said, clearly exasperated. He heard a huff on the other side of the door and knew Izzy was giving Jace one of her patented bitchfaces. 

“Look, just text me if you find him,” Jace said, cutting off their argument abruptly. “I have to study with Clary tonight, and I swear, if Alec makes me late - ”

“Ah, so that’s why you’re in such a hurry,” Izzy teased. 

“What do you mean?” Jace said defensively. 

“Please, like we all can’t see what’s going on between the two of you...” Izzy’s voice trailed off as she and Jace walked away, and Alec breathed a sigh of relief at their departure. 

Alec brought a shaky hand to his face and tried to wipe at the tear tracks staining his cheeks, but he was still crying, so that didn’t help much. He took a deep breath and tried to pull himself together. Play practice was clearly over, and Alec needed to drive his siblings home. 

As the oldest of the three of them, he had _responsibilities_. He couldn’t just spend his afternoon crying in a storage closet because his best friend didn’t love him back. It was pathetic.

Another sob tore its way out of Alec’s throat, and he cursed himself for his inability to cry quietly. At this rate, he’d attract someone to the closet in no time. 

Almost as if on cue, a knock on the door to the storage closet sounded and Alec held his breath, waiting to see if whoever it was would go away when they found the door locked. 

The doorknob jiggled once, twice, and then fell still. Alec breathed a sigh of relief. The intruder would probably give up and find somewhere else to store their costume or whatever it was they needed to store now. 

However, to his horror, Alec heard a small _snick_ as the person on the other side of the door ran a debit card down the crack and unlocked the door with practiced ease. Alec started to panic and he tried to get up and act as if he, too, was in there for a purpose other than having a breakdown, but they entered the room and flipped on the light switch before he could move. 

Alec closed his eyes, feeling his cheeks flame red with embarrassment. He hoped, _prayed_ , that whoever it was would leave him alone to his misery and shut up about what they’d seen; the eldest Lightwood with tear stains on his cheeks, huddled up in a ball on the floor of a fucking storage closet. 

Whatever Alec had expected the mystery person to do, it wasn’t what happened.

Alec heard movement and suddenly the person was in front of him, presumably on their knees, as well, and a warm hand caught hold of Alec’s cheek and began to wipe away the tears there. Alec tried to pull away, but the person pulled him even closer and he caught a whiff of very, very familiar cologne. 

Alec’s eyes flew open and he made a sound that was something in between a shout and a cry. Magnus was kneeling before him, his chocolate-brown eyes confused and concerned. He wasn’t in the costume he’d worn for the play anymore; instead, he’d changed into black sweatpants and a grey t-shirt that showed off his ab muscles. This fact only made Alec feel even worse.

“Alec?” Magnus murmured, stroking his thumb over Alec’s cheek tenderly. “Are you okay? What happened?”

Alec shook his head, a blush rising to his cheeks once again. 

“Oh, please don’t be embarrassed,” Magnus said, drawing Alec close and reaching up to stroke his fingers through his ebony hair. “You’ve seen me cry plenty of times.”

Alec managed a choked, watery laugh at that, and Magnus squeezed him tightly in response. 

“It’s nothing,” Alec said, his voice cracked and shaky. “J-Just leave me here, Mags.”

Magnus looked offended by that notion. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said firmly, reaching to pull Alec into a tight hug. “I’m right here, Alexander.”

Alec tucked his head into the crook of Magnus’s neck and took a deep breath. “I have to get back, anyway,” he mumbled. “I need to drive Izzy and Jace home.”

“Isabelle and Mr. Body Builder can wait,” Magnus countered, and Alec smiled a little at his best friend’s nickname for Jace. 

“Seriously, Magnus, I’m fine,” Alec said, pulling away from the circle of Magnus’s arms and scrubbing furiously at his eyes. “You don’t have to stay.”

“Yes, I do,” Magnus said, reaching out to grab Alec’s hand before he could get too far away. He cupped Alec’s cheek in his palm and pressed his forehead to Alec’s. “My best friend is hurting,” he said tremulously. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

More tears spilled over at that, and Alec found himself in the unfamiliar position of being comforted by Magnus. He wasn’t complaining, though, when Magnus began to rub soothing circles into his back and run his hands through Alec’s hair. 

After a few minutes, Alec had calmed down enough for Magnus to release him, and Magnus asked, “What was that all about, sweetheart?”

Alec froze, looking up at Magnus in horror. He hadn’t even thought about what he would say to Magnus when he asked that question. He hadn’t had time to prepare an excuse, and now he was trapped, looking at Magnus like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Magnus frowned and squeezed the hand that was still in his reassuringly. “There’s nothing you could say that would make me judge you, or love you any less,” he promised Alec.

Alec had to hold back a derisive snort at that. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he would absolutely ruin his friendship with Magnus if the other boy found out about the secret feelings he was harboring for him. 

“I’m serious,” Magnus said when he caught Alec’s expression of disbelief. He wrapped an arm around Alec’s shoulders and brought him in for another hug. “I promise, Alexander.”

Alec shuddered and pressed his face to Magnus’s neck, exhaling shakily. He usually hated being called by his full first name and not his nickname, but Magnus was different. It sounded beautiful when Magnus said it. 

“Please tell me what’s wrong,” Magnus said, burying his face in Alec’s hair. “I’m here for you, Alexander, you know that.”

Alec huffed wetly against Magnus’s neck. “Yeah, I do.”

Magnus’s arms tightened around Alec. “Then let me help you.”

When Alec didn’t respond, Magnus sighed and pushed him back just enough so he could peer into Alec’s cerulean eyes. “Fine,” he huffed. “If you won’t tell me, I guess I’ll just have to figure it out myself.” Alec’s lips twitched with the beginnings of a smile, and Magnus beamed at him. “Feel free to jump in any time, darling.”

Alec’s stomach turned over at Magnus’s use of the pet name, but he didn’t have time to dwell on it for long. 

“Well, nothing noteworthy happened in class today,” Magnus mused, stroking his fingers through Alec’s hair absentmindedly. “We don’t have any big tests or presentations coming up. Izzy and Jace are both fine, so it’s nothing to do with them. Hmm, maybe something that happened at play practice?”

Alec’s heart seized and he unconsciously bit his lip, hard. 

This action, of course, did not go unnoticed by Magnus, who grinned at him, looking like a cat that’d gotten the cream. “So it _was_ something that happened at play practice!” Magnus exclaimed triumphantly. “Hmm, okay.” With that, he began to list everything that had happened from the start of the practice to the end, two hours’ worth of events. 

“And then I did my scene with Camille,” Magnus said thoughtfully, and Alec tried hard to remain impassive. “And she kissed me.” Alec couldn’t stop the sharp breath that escaped him, and Magnus pumped his fist in triumph, squeezing Alec’s hand that much tighter. 

“So it was the kiss that bothered you,” Magnus said. He sounded confused, and Alec didn’t blame him. He looked down at Alec, sweeping a few locks of black hair off of his forehead so he could look into Alec’s ice-blue eyes. “But why?”

Alec didn’t answer, keeping his gaze firmly trained on the floor. His heart was pounding so hard that he wasn’t sure Magnus couldn’t hear it. 

“I don’t even like Camille,” Magnus continued, and Alec tried not to feel too guilty about the spike of relief that shot through him at Magnus’s words. 

“ _She_ kissed _me_ ,” Magnus said, sounding affronted. “It wasn’t even scripted.” He shook his head. “She doesn’t have any respect for people, I swear.”

“But why would that bother you?” Magnus thought out loud, peering down to look at Alec once more. “Why would her kissing me bother you this much?” He was quiet for a few seconds, mulling this over, before a glint of understanding flashed in his eyes. “Unless...”

“Please,” Alec spoke for the first time since Magnus had embarked on his mission to figure out what was upsetting Alec, “Please, this doesn’t have to change anything. Please, Magnus. We can just forget about this.”

“Unless you like me,” Magnus finished his sentence from earlier, a note of awe in his voice. He grabbed Alec’s chin and forced the other boy to meet his eyes, which Alec did fearfully, afraid of what he’d find there. “You like me?” Magnus asked Alec, his voice dripping with disbelief. “Like, _like me_ like me?”

Alec didn’t figure there was any point in lying now. “Yes, Magnus,” he mumbled. “You bloody idiot. I’ve been in love with you since ninth grade.”

Magnus let go of Alec’s chin and rocked back on his heels, trying to process this new information. “I - really?”

Alec didn’t say anything back, knowing that Magnus wasn’t really looking for a response to his question. 

A spike of panic shot through him as Magnus tried to come to terms with what he’d just learned. Alec could deal with a lot; homophobic parents, pressures and expectations to always be the best, no matter what, even having an adopted brother that’d landed himself in jail one too many times. One thing he couldn’t deal with was losing Magnus.

“This doesn’t have to change anything,” Alec repeated his words from earlier. “Please, Magnus. I swear I won’t mention it. We can just forget about this. Please. I can’t lose my best friend, Magnus.”

“Who said anything about losing me?” Magnus said gruffly, reaching to pull Alec into a bone-crushing hug. “Sorry, Lightwood, you’re stuck with me.”

Alec huffed out a laugh against Magnus’s collarbone, allowing a few tears of relief to slip down his cheeks. 

“But,” Magnus said, and Alec’s heart sank, “We do have to talk about this.” He pushed back just enough so he could face Alec properly and said, “Do you really want to forget this ever happened?”

“I - Yes? You don’t feel the same way, so...”

Magnus cut him off by grabbing Alec by the face and kissing him, hard. Alec barely had time to respond before Magnus pulled away, grinning from ear to ear. 

“I don’t believe I ever said I didn’t return your feelings,” Magnus said simply in response to Alec’s look of complete and utter confusion. 

“I - I - you - what?”

Magnus snickered. “Very eloquent, darling.”

“Shut up,” Alec grumbled. He met Magnus’s soft brown eyes with an incredulous stare. “Seriously? You - You really feel the same way?”

“Yes,” Magnus said, rolling his eyes. “Didn’t I make that obvious?”

Alec felt his mouth stretching into a wide grin and he tackled Magnus in a hug, crying tears of relief onto the other’s shoulder. Magnus laughed, deep and heartwarming, and tugged Alec impossibly closer to him.

“I’ve always loved you,” Magnus confessed. “From the moment I saw you, I knew you were the one for me.”

“You cheesy prick,” Alec muttered. “When did you actually start liking me?”

Magnus laughed again and said, “About two years ago.” He squeezed Alec tighter and moved to whisper in his ear. “I’ve _loved_ you for six months.”

Alec swallowed hard. “Seems like I’ve got a few years on you there.”

Magnus swatted the back of his head gently. “At least I finally figured it out. Who knows how long you would have pined over me without doing anything about it.”

Alec groaned and it was his turn to hit Magnus in the back of the head. “I didn’t see you doing anything about it, either.”

“Fair point,” Magnus conceded. He pulled Alec into his lap and put everything he had into the embrace. It was the hardest Alec could ever remember being hugged. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes, content to simply _be_ with each other, but all too soon, the silence was shattered by the sharp sound of Alec’s phone ringing over and over again. 

“You’d better go,” Magnus said, laughing. “Before Jace finds you and eviscerates you.”

“Yeah,” Alec agreed regretfully. “But c-could we, uh...” He trailed off, embarrassment creeping into his voice. 

“Could we, uh, what?” Magnus teased him, but when Alec didn’t reply, he gave the other boy a firm squeeze and said, “Of course. Does Friday at eight sound like a good time to have our first date?”

Alec grinned and nodded. “Yes, that sounds perfect.”

“Great,” Magnus chirped happily. “I’ll pick you up.”

Alec smiled and placed a tentative kiss on Magnus’s cheek. “Great.”

Magnus beamed at him and moved to stand, reaching a hand out to help Alec up. 

Then, together, their hands still linked and hanging easily between them, Alec and Magnus left the storage closet in search of Alec’s siblings. And when they found the two of them, Izzy could swear that the expression on Alec’s face was the happiest one she had ever seen him wear.

**Author's Note:**

> [Stalk me on Tumblr](http://moonlight-breeze-44.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Prompts are open!
> 
> Want to embrace your inner chaotic fandom participant? Require somewhere to scream about Shadowhunters and other fandoms? Need writing advice, encouragement, or new friends? [Join our Discord server](https://discord.gg/82pvdE39fD) and find your place in a community of fandom-ers livin' it up! We welcome everyone, and we would love to have you. <3
> 
>  **NOTE** : I may have based this fic on my own high school experiences in musical theater (what little of them I had). Oops. Let's just say the storage closet in my high school was _the place_ for love confessions, mental breakdowns, and everything in between. 
> 
> Someone said they liked the music recommendations I did on one of my other fics, so here's some more!
> 
> ~ The Other Side by Ruelle  
> ~ Broken Arrows by Daughtry  
> ~ we fell in love in october by girl in red  
> ~ Prom Queen by Molly Kate Kestner (kind of goes with the high school theme of this fic!)  
> ~ Something I Need by Ben Haenow
> 
> That is all, lovelies! See you soon <3
> 
> ~ Em


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